Dark Shadows was a 1966-1971 soap opera that science fiction/horror fans could sink their teeth into: instead of characters who were doctors and lawyers, some of the dwellers of Collinsport, Maine, were vampires, witches, and zombies. The show had a brief second life in 1991, but its dedicated fans always wanted to know more about the Collins family and their pale distant cousin, Barnabas Collins, Now Tim Burton has turned the story of Dark Shadows into a movie. And from this trailer, below, it seems to be a comedy.
Although Dark Shadows was a gothic horror with romance, the series was famous for its unintentionally funny moments: filmed on a live-to-tape format, stagehands appeared in the background and camera mics descended into shot. In addition, actors had to perform their roles in one take, and they occasionally flubbed their lines. (I sympathize. Trying to remember lines for a half hour script every day is a gargantuan task.)
From this trailer, we see that Burton has found the funny notes. But will Dark Shadows be creepy enough? If it is, it could be a winner: there are many fans of the humor/horror subgenre, myself included. I hope Burton has found the right balance between the two.
So here is the trailer, below. And beneath that, I found a YouTube clip of Dark Shadows bloopers. Remember, this isn’t a “blooper reel” to be shown at the end of a DVD. This is the actual footage that aired.